Shoshone Museum - Shoshone, California

Shoshone is a convenient place to stop for gas and supplies as you're entering / leaving Death Valley from the south on CA-187 and, if you have a few extra minutes to spare, the museum is worth a visit too. The building itself was first used as a union hall in the mining camp of Greenwater before being relocated to Shoshone and operated as a gas station. As well as an archive of local history, the museum is also home to the bones of a prehistoric mammoth discovered nearby.

If you go:The old car and gas pump outside make this a photogenic site in its own right. If you'd like to see more of Shoshone, ask for a copy of the walking map tour which takes in Shoshone Cemetery and the miner's cave dwellings of Dublin Gulch.